Danny Williams confirms Reading FC departure

Danny Williams has posted an emotional message to Reading fans after his spell at the club officially came to an end last week.

The American midfielder penned a two-year deal at Huddersfield Town yesterday, the side who defeated Reading in last season’s Championship play-off final.

Royals had been keen to tie Williams down to a new deal after his current contract expired at the end of June, the midfielder saying, “the club have done everything they could to convince me to stay”, but he has this evening confirmed via Instagram that he will be moving on.

The message in full reads:

“Dear Fans,

First of all, I would like to say thank you for all the messages over the last month. I have read every single one of them and I appreciate the passion and love you have for your club!

Unfortunately my time at Reading has come to an end. It is important to me that everybody knows that Brian Tevreden and the club have done everything they could to convince me to stay.

As a football player and athlete I know that I have a short career and I want to get the maximum out of it. I have always had the ambition to challenge myself at the highest level and never made a secret about my desire to play in the Premier League.

Sometimes in life you have to step out of your comfort zone and do what is best for you. This is the reason why I left Germany to come here in the first place. And it proved it was the right decision at the time. You welcomed me with open arms which made it super easy for me to settle in, you always supported me and the team in good and in bad times and you let me do my mistakes which let me grow into a better player. I will never forget that.

It was an honour to play for this club and the Madejski Stadium will always have a special place in my heart. But I feel it is the right time for me to move on and follow my dreams. I dont want to look back and have any regrets.

I also want to thank Jaap Stam and his staff (Andris Ulderink, Said Bakkati, Steven Reid, Dave Beasant) and the athletic coaches around Ed Franklin for getting the best out of us.

The last year was obviously the most exciting one for everybody even if it ended in heartache but it shows what you can achieve when you have the right people with the right vision behind it. I am looking forward to follow what next season holds for this talented group of players. I hope the support will be at least as good as it was towards the end of last season because the players deserve it. Hope to see you again soon.